Cranial Nerves Flashcards
What Nervous Systems are the Cranial Nerves a part of?
Peripheral Nervous System
Describe how the Cranial Nerves Arise.
Arise at irregular intervals from the CNS.
How many axons do cranial nerves carry?
1,000.
What are the different axon types?
- General Sensory.
- Special Sensory.
- Motor.
- Autonomic.
Cranial Nerves can be a combination of both.
What does the Brainstem join?
The brainstem joins the brain to the spinal cord.
What is the role of the Brainstem?
Regulate cardio-respiratory functions and maintaining consciousness.
What is the Brainstem the main location of?
Cranial nerve nuclei (majority of).
Which Cranial Nerves are found in the Forebrain?
Olfactory Nerve (CN1). Optic Nerve (CN2).
Which Cranial Nerves are found in the Midbrain?
Oculomotor Nerve (CN3). Trochlear Nerve (CN4).
Which Cranial Nerves are found in the Pons?
Trigeminal Nerve (CN5). Abducens Nerve (CN6). Facial Nerve (CN7). Vestibulocochlear Nerve (CN8).
Which Cranial Nerves are found in the Medulla?
Glossopharyngeal Nerve (CN9). Vagus Nerve (CN10). Accessory Nerve (CN11). Hypoglossal Nerve (CN12).
What is the Roman Numeral for the Olfactory Nerve?
CNI.
What is the Roman Numeral for the Optic Nerve?
CNII.
What is the Roman Numeral for the Oculomotor Nerve?
CNIII.
What is the Roman Numeral for the Trochlear Nerve?
CNIV.
What is the Roman Numeral for the Trigeminal Nerve?
CNV.
What is the Roman Numeral for the Abducens Nerve?
CNVI.
What is the Roman Numeral for the Facial Nerve?
CNVII.
What is the Roman Numeral for the Vestibulocochlear Nerve?
CNVIII.
What is the Roman Numeral for the Glossopharyngeal Nerve?
CNIX.
What is the Roman Numeral for the Vagus Nerve?
CNX.
What is the Roman Numeral for the Accessory Nerve?
CNXI.
What is the Roman Numeral for the Hypoglossal Nerve?
CNXII.
What is the function of the Olfactory Nerve?
Is a special sensory nerve for olfaction (sense of smell). Axons travel to the olfactory bulb, olfactory tract and into the temporal lobe.
Is the Olfactory Nerve a ‘true’ Cranial Nerve?
No, it is a paired anterior extension of the forebrain.
What is the word for loss of smell?
Anosmia.
How do you test the Olfactory Nerve?
Often not tested but the person is asked about difficulties or changes in the sense of smell, sometimes using smelling salts.
What can cause a loss of smell?
- Head injury-> secondary to shearing forces +/ basilar skull fracture.
- Tumours at the base of the frontal lobes within the anterior cranial fossa.
Is the Optic Nerve a ‘true’ Cranial Nerve?
No, it is a paired anterior extension of the forebrain.
What pathway is the Optic Nerve part of?
Visual Pathway.
Describe the pathway the optic nerve travels in to perceive vision.
Retinal ganglion cells send action potentials (impulses generated by cells within the retina) to axons from the optic nerve, which exists at the back of the orbit via the optic canal and the fibres cross and merge at the optic chiasm. They will reach the primary visual cortex where the action potentials are perceived as vision.
What does the Optic Nerve do?
Carries sensory fibres from one eye.
What happens at the Optic Chiasm?
Mixing of sensory fibres from right and left optic nerves.
What does the Optic Tract Contain?
Sensory information from part of the left and part of the right eye.
Describe the characteristics of lesions within the visual pathway?
Different lesions give very different patterns of visual loss.
Give examples of lesions within the visual pathway.
Retinal detachment.
Optic Neuritis.
Pituitary tumour.
Stroke.
What do Pituitary Tumours do in respect to the Optic Nerve?
Compress the optic chiasm, causing bilateral visual symptoms called bitemporal hemianopia.
How do you test the function of the Optic Nerve?
Visual Acuity Test, such as Snellen Chart, Charting Visual Fields, testing pupillary responses.
What device is used to see the Optic Nerve Directly?
Ophthalmoscope, which visualises the optic disc at the point at which the nerve enters the retina.
Why can the Optic Nerve Swell due to raised ICP?
The optic nerve carries extension of the meninges .
What technique can show raised intracranial pressure?
Fundoscopy.
What is the word for a swollen optic disc?
Papillodema.
Describe the Visual Pathway.
The visual pathway extends back from the retina towards the primary visual cortex found within the occipital lobe.
There is communication from the optic tracts within the midbrain to allow for certain visual reflexes.
What is the function of the Oculomotor Nerve?
It has a motor and autonomic function (also carries autonomic parasympathetic fibres).
- It innervates most of the muscles that move the eyeball (extra-ocular muscles).
- Innervates the muscle of the eyelid (Levator Palpabrae Superioris).
- Innervates the Sphincter Papillae muscle which constructs the pupil- parasympathetic nervous system.
- Innervates the ciliary muscles for changing eye lens- parasympathetic nervous system.
Where is the Oculomotor Nerve Vulnerable to Compression when Intracranial Pressure is raised?
Tentorium Cerebelli and Part of the Temporal Lobe.
How do you test the function of Oculomotor, Trochlear and Abducens Nerve?
Inspecting the eyelids and pupil size, testing eye movements and testing pupillary reflexes (to light for example).
What can Pathology in the Oculomotor Nerve Cause?
Pupillary Dilation and/ or double vision (diplopia). Down and out position can occur with severe ptosis (eyelid droop).
What is the name for double vision?
Diplopia.
What is the name for Eyelid Drooping?
Ptosis.
What Causes Injury/Pathology to the Oculomotor Nerve?
- Raised Intracranial Pressure (tumour or haemorrhage) which causes external compression of the nerve.
- Aneurysm of the posterior communicating artery causes external compression of the nerve.
- Cavernous Sinus Thrombosis which can also cause external compression of the nerve.
- Vascular problems, secondary to diabetes or hypertension, which is typically pupil spearing.